Corn is China's largest grain crop. China's corn planting area has remained at around 650 million mu for three consecutive years, and its output has remained above 270 million tons for three consecutive years; in 2023, China's corn planting area will be about 663 million mu, and its output will reach about 289 million tons, accounting for 41.58% of the total grain output, and the yield per unit area will reach 435.47 kg/mu; in 2024, China's corn planting area will reach 671 million mu, and its output will be 295 million tons, accounting for 41.74% of the total grain output, and the yield per unit area will reach 439.45 kg/mu. The steady growth of corn area and the year-on-year increase in corn yields in China are due to the promotion of China's excellent corn varieties and the popularization of supporting cultivation techniques and measures.

The total number of corn varieties approved in China from 2014 to 2024 is 21,413. After 2017, with the implementation of consortium and green channel trials, the number of corn varieties certified nationwide has increased rapidly, reaching a peak in 2021-2022, at 3094 and 3244 respectively. In 2023 and 2024, the total number of corn varieties certified nationwide remained stable at around 2,800.

According to statistics (see Table 1), the total number of national and provincial approved common corn varieties (excluding fresh corn) in the past three years is 680-857, and the total number of provincial approved corn varieties is 1613-2027. In the past three years, the provinces with a large number of provincially approved corn varieties (≧200) are mainly concentrated in Heilongjiang, Jilin, Liaoning, Hebei, Shanxi, Gansu, Inner Mongolia, Shaanxi, Shandong, Henan, Guizhou, Sichuan, Yunnan and other regions. These regions have large corn planting areas, complex climate types, and more ecological zone groups. The provinces with relatively few approved varieties are Beijing, Tianjin, Hunan, and Qinghai, with the number of varieties approved each year being less than 10. The corn planting area in these regions is small, and many seed companies are less enthusiastic about participating in corn regional trials in these regions.

Analyzing the data of the top ten corn varieties promoted nationwide from 2017 to 2024, the total planting area of the top ten corn varieties in 2017 accounted for 20.36% of the total corn area in the country, and it has been declining year by year from 2018 to 2020, which were 19.43%, 17.73% and 18.03% respectively. From 2021 to 2023, the total planting area of the top ten corn varieties in the country accounted for about 15% of the total corn area. This shows that the total number of varieties promoted in the market has increased sharply, and the market share of traditional large varieties has been squeezed out by medium and small varieties, but large varieties of tens of millions of acres will continue to occupy the main market steadily.

Statistics show that the varieties with a national corn promotion area of more than 100,000 acres from 2021 to 2023 are 983, 948 and 980, which are relatively stable. Among them, there are 68, 78 and 85 varieties with an area of more than 1 million mu, and the promotion area accounts for 48.5%, 50.9% and 51.6% of the total statistical area respectively. The trend of market share is that the planting area of large varieties is getting larger and larger, and the small varieties are getting smaller and smaller. (Data source: Statistical data of Beijing Chuangzhong Technology Co., Ltd. of Da Bei Nong)